Aayush, a naughty, delightful 9 year old little boy since Dec. 06 having been abandoned on our gates. He has Autism spectrum, eating disorder, speech difficulties & epilepsy. He enjoys life & is happy most of the time. He likes to play with water & toys. His eating disorder seems to be under control which has helped him to grow. He needs being looked after for his A.D.L. & living happily as a member of cottage 2.

Little breaks a heart faster than a child's smile. It may be a smile of anticipation...a smile of pure joy...a smile of longing ... a smile that says "thank you" (’Dhan’yavada ’ in Hindi ) that means much more than words in any language.

In "Snehalaya" there are more than 63 (the number grows daily) smiling faces. These are the children that have escaped the hard, menial, and monotonous future of living on the streets of India...and have come to a place where they are treated with dignity and all their needs are met.

"Snehalaya", meaning "the home with love" in Hindi, is a care home for disabled children, homeless women and the aged, where they live together as a family in individual cottages, with aims to help make them independent and live with dignity.

It is our aim for Snehalaya to become completely self sufficient. We have drilled bore holes to provide fresh drinking water, cultivated 15 acres of land and we rear dairy cows and poultry to provide food. We are making good progress but we are a long way off from being 100% self-sufficient, with electricity production being our biggest and most costly hurdle.

The Gwalior Children's Charity does not receive any government support from India, despite operating in one of it's poorest and most needy areas. Because of this we rely solely on donations from around the world.

All running costs are met thorugh the kindness of our donors. Nothing is deducted for administration costs with 100% of funds going directly to help the children.

HELPING CHILDREN IN INDIA

Covering 25 acres, Snehalaya is an unique place combining community living with a Care Home (orphanage) for disabled and destitute children, homeless women and the aged. Mostly they live together as a family in cottages. "Snehalaya" (in Hindi it means "Home -- with Love") also includes a school for special needs, a mainstream school, a regional rural hospital, a multi-sensory room, vocational training, facilities for yoga and meditation, farm, gaushala (cow shed) for our own cows -- all set amid gardens, farms and sports & play areas.

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Also on site, the new integrated school has facilities for 250 'special needs' children plus a further 500 places for children from surrounding villages, especially girls who would otherwise remain uneducated and undergo oppression. A special focus is vocational training for these girls to make them more independent and provide them with confidence to start a career.

A little goes a very long way in India - and there are many ways an individual or an organisation can make a real difference. Sometimes, when we look at the need, the prospect seems daunting. But we carry on, remembering the simple adage that "because you can't do everything, it doesn't mean you should do nothing".

IMPORTANT: Although we operate in one of the poorest and most needy parts of India, the Gwalior Childrens Charity (formerly Gwalior Childrens Hospital Charity) receives no government support. Not from local authorities. Not from regional or state sources. Not from central government. So we are forced to rely on the generosity of people around the world, like you. Any contribution, however small, is very much appreciated.

We need regular income, please consider becoming a regular donor by setting up a standing order. No amount is too small, every little helps. Please click here for more information.

Message From Dr B.K.Sharma, Founder of HCOI Childrens Charity

The Gwalior Children's Charity has been running for just over 16 years now, and we aim to provide assistance to the most vulnerable people in India, giving them the education, healthcare and love they need to break out of poverty, with an emphasis on helping disadvantaged children.

Although we run many initiatives, out main focus for the past five years has been on our care home, Snehalaya.

Snehalaya is the only one of its kind in Gwalior, as there are no longer any state run homes for children. We have moved away from the conventional institutionalised care given in state run homes, and offer a loving environment where the children's educational, health and personal development needs are met. here these children have escaped the hard and dangerous future of living on the streets of India and have come to a place where they are treated with dignity and are free from fear, neglect and abuse, things that unfortunately are still found in many state homes across the country.

2011 was a special year having achieved new mile stones for our ongoing work. We have started the main stream school in Snehalaya Campus, though delayed for a year for reasons beyond our control. Our hospital in Gwalior city closed in Dec. 2007, but has also now been restarted as a General Hospital with ICU and Trauma Centre on 8th July 2011. All this could not have happened without the help of our supporters.

The New school will provide education to nearly 500 children (esp. girls) from surrounding villages. The girls will be provided every thing including books, uniforms, food, education and health care as well Rs.1 0 per day for attending the school with vocational training . The aim is to make them independent; the girls remain illiterate, uneducated and undergo oppression all their life otherwise. Here I will like to add that we have already been running a school for special needs in Snehalaya since Aug. 2006 providing education and training to the children with disabilities resident in Snehalaya as well to those from local community.

I feel proud in saying that Snehalaya is really a "Home with Love" as dreamt by us and what the word means in Hindi. It is a unique place for community living in India and continues to provide for disabled and destitute children, homeless women and the aged with a school (Special need as well main stream school) and hospital on site. It has all the facilities for education and health care for children living there happily as family in a pollution free environment. It also has facilities for Naturo therapy, Yoga, Meditation, Physiotherapy, Hydrotherapy spread out in an area of 25 Acres of land with its own Gardens, Orchards, farms, play and Sports fields and much more. There is a cow shed (Gaushala) as well a small poultry and bird house too.

There are 62 children & 7 homeless women there at present and more will join this family soon. We aim to make it a facility to accommodate 200 children when completed. We continue with ongoing care for the children in Snehalaya as well to achieve sustainable development in slums and surrounding villages including health care, education, hygiene, sanitation, vaccination, safe drinking water, income generation etc. We also continue with our "Light for Education programme" and provide solar lights to school going children in villages there to facilitate education, decrease pollution, accidents and hazards.

We invite you to visit our Snehalaya at your convenience and see the fruits of your support by yourself. Our volunteers continue to help us with fund raising and for publicity and many continue to work on the ground in Gwalior living there in very difficult conditions. We use 100% of funds received to provide for the work only as per wishes of the donors/sponsors. I was asked to take the responsibility as Chairman of the Board too in Jan. 2011 when Mr. Michael Binnie retired. We are delighted that eminent personalities like Dr. B.S. Sharma "Chaitanya", Swami Krishnanand, Shri Hrishikesh Vashistha and Dr. AnilAkush Sharma have joined us as new members of our board in India helping us in carrying these works further.

I remain obliged and indebted to you all, volunteers, supporters, well wishers, sponsors, carers and staff as well my colleagues, trustees and members of advisory board, without whom it could have not been possible to reach here, having received no support from any Government or their agencies. We depend upon donations and or fund raising only by our supporters and volunteers. Much has been achieved, but much more remains to be done in order to maintain and improve the ongoing work. We are certain that you will continue to support us for many more years to come, in continuing this work and developing it further and providing for our children in the best way possible.

Dr. B. K. Sharma | Founder of the Gwalior Children's Charity

The 2011 Souvenir book is available to read online and for download, with all the latest news about Snehalaya and Gwalior Childrens Charity.

The Gwalior Children's Charity does not receive any government support from India, despite operating in one of it's poorest and most needy areas. Because of this we rely solely on donations from around the world.

All running costs are met thorugh the kindness of our donors. Nothing is deducted for administration costs with 100% of funds going directly to help the children.

The Gwalior Children's Charity raises money to help poor and destitute people in Gwalior, India. Although our main focus is on the children of Gwalior, our work also extends to women and the elderly.

Our projects aim to give the children of Gwalior, and where possible their families, independence by providing the skills, education and healthcare required to break their cycle of poverty and live a better life.

New SchoolThe school will provide education for residents of Snehalaya with special needs plus 500 children from surrounding villages. This is one of the important services provided free of charge, with the help of GCC supporters.